Nolan L, O'Malley K
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland.
Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1988;35(3):225-9. doi: 10.1007/BF00558257.
In order to establish the current status of benzodiazepine prescribing and also to assess patients' attitudes towards the use of these drugs, we interviewed 450 consecutive patients in 16 community pharmacies about their use of benzodiazepines. Prescribing rates increased ten-fold from the age of 20 to 70 years and were higher in women than in men. The average dose used in the elderly seemed excessive and the choice of hypnotic often inappropriate. The median duration of benzodiazepine use was 2.5 years (range 0-25) and 66% of the patients had been taking benzodiazepines for one year or more. Most of the patients (97%) found the drugs effective in the treatment of anxiety or insomnia. Twenty-two percent took a lower dose than prescribed and 7.5% a higher dose. These data suggest that benzodiazepines are prescribed for excessively long periods and that greater caution is needed in prescribing benzodiazepines for older patients.
为了确定苯二氮䓬类药物的处方现状，并评估患者对使用这些药物的态度，我们在16家社区药店连续采访了450名患者，了解他们使用苯二氮䓬类药物的情况。从20岁到70岁，处方率增长了10倍，女性高于男性。老年人使用的平均剂量似乎过高，催眠药物的选择往往不合适。苯二氮䓬类药物使用的中位持续时间为2.5年（范围0 - 25年），66%的患者服用苯二氮䓬类药物已达一年或更长时间。大多数患者（97%）发现这些药物对治疗焦虑或失眠有效。22%的患者服用的剂量低于处方剂量，7.5%的患者服用的剂量高于处方剂量。这些数据表明，苯二氮䓬类药物的处方时间过长，为老年患者开此类药物时需要更加谨慎。
